740.0011 Pacific War/2894
The Ambassador in China (Gauss) to the Secretary of State
[Received October 30.]
Sir: I have the honor to enclose for the Department’s information a translation of an editorial20 from the Central Daily News (Kuomintang Party publication) of September 11, 1942, concerning the British Parliamentary Goodwill Mission to China.
The editorial extends a hearty welcome to the Mission which is scheduled to leave Great Britain for China at the end of September and states (1) that the sending of such a Mission at this time is a further indication of the importance attached to the China war theater by Great Britain, (2) that the visit of the Mission will afford an opportunity for discussion of military, economic and other phases of the problems, including post-war problems, affecting mutual cooperation between the two countries and (3) that the representative nature of the Mission fully reflects the spirit and unity of Great Britain.
According to a report released by the Press Attaché’s Office of the British Embassy, the Mission is visiting China in response to an invitation from Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek. The Chinese press, has, however, made no reference to such an invitation, and it is believed that the idea of sending this Mission may have grown out of the desire of the British Government to counteract the anti-British feeling existing among Chinese official and private circles and that the visits of Mr. Currie and Mr. Willkie to China may have given further impetus to the idea. There seems to have been a concerted and directed effort on the part of Chinese officialdom to bring about a more friendly feeling toward the British Government as is evidenced in [Page 155] editorials in most of the Chinese newspapers on September 3 acclaiming the courage and resistance of the British on the third anniversary of the British declaration of war against Germany and in editorials on September 11 welcoming the Mission to China.
Respectfully yours,
- Not printed.↩